MONTPELIER, VT – After a U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration investigation, the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont has entered a consent judgment requiring the fiduciaries of the Sonnax Industries’ employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) to pay $2,225,000 to the plan.

BOSTON, MA – The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts has entered a consent judgment requiring Kyoto Restaurant of Medford LLC and owner Phong Nguyen to pay a total of $15,000 in lost wages and punitive and liquidated damages to a former employee who, the U.S. Department of Labor charged, was terminated for cooperating with a Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation in 2016 and 2017.

CONCORD, NH – The U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire has sentenced Kevin Corriveau, owner and operator of Kevin Corriveau Painting Inc. of Nashua, to six months imprisonment; two years of supervised release, post-imprisonment; and a $25,000 criminal fine for one count of obstruction of justice.

SYRACUSE, NY – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Syracuse-based roofing contractor The Roofing Guys Inc. have reached a settlement to resolve citations and penalties issued by OSHA. This settlement resolves four separate citations for fall protection violations issued to the company in 2016 and 2017.

WESTBURY, NY – After an investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor, Farmingdale Auto Collision Inc. and its owner and officers have paid $306,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 21 employees to resolve violations of the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

ALBANY, NY – After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation, Georgia contractor Infinite Services and Solutions and its president, Khary Lewis, who provided transportation services for the U.S. Army in New York and Arizona, have been placed on a list of bidders ineligible for federal contracts for a period of three years as a result of violations of the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA).

GUAYNABO, PR – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), fuel distributor Macro Companies Inc., engaged in hurricane recovery activities in Puerto Rico, has paid $1,151,291 in back wages to 219 employees for violating the overtime provisions of the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA), the fringe benefits provisions of the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA), and the recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

BOSTON, MA – The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement with Lynnway Auto Auction Inc., in which the Billerica facility agrees to correct hazards, implement significant safety measures, and pay $200,000 in penalties. The Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Lynnway for 16 violations following a May 2017 incident in which a sport utility vehicle fatally struck five people during an auto auction.

CAMDEN, NJ – Two companies that operate 17 Houlihan’s franchisee restaurants in New Jersey and New York and their owner Arnold Runestad will pay $5,000,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 1,471 current and former employees to resolve a U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The agreement is part of a consent judgment filed on April 2, 2018, that is pending review and approval by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

WESTBURY, NY – After an investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York has ordered Casa Concrete Inc., a provider of concrete services, and its officers, Alice Fernandes and Manuel Fernandes, to pay $412,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 20 employees for violating the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

BOSTON, MA - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has ordered Jet Logistics Inc. (JLI) and New England Life Flight Inc. - doing business as Boston MedFlight (BMF) - to reinstate a pilot who lost his job after complaining about what he reasonably believed were violations of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations.

BOSTON, MA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has ordered JetBlue Corporation to reinstate and compensate a flight attendant who was fired for raising safety concerns about a flight. The order requires JetBlue Corporation to clear the affected personnel file and pay $143,783.66 in back pay, compensatory damages, and attorneys’ fees, and post a notice informing all employees of their whistleblower protections.

BOSTON, MA – In connection with a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the owners of several Boston, Massachusetts, pizza restaurants have agreed to a preliminary order enjoining them from retaliating against employees or former employees, and from instructing employees not to speak with or to lie to U.S. Department of Labor investigators.

HARTFORD, CT – After an investigation by the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and Office of Inspector General (OIG), Yolanda Silverio, a former eligibility coordinator for a Connecticut company that administers trust funds for public and private sector health benefit plans, has been sentenced by the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut to 10 months of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release.

NEW YORK, NY – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Carthage Specialty Paperboard Inc., have a reached a settlement agreement to improve efforts to prevent safety and health hazards in their Carthage, New York, facility. The company will pay $175,000 in penalties.

MANCHESTER, NH – The U.S. Department of Labor has reached settlements with Bread and Roses Bakery Inc. of Ogunquit, Maine, after the Department found the company violated terms of the H-2B nonimmigrant visa program under the Immigration and Nationality Act and the minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Under the agreements, Bread and Roses will pay $73,115 in back wages and damages to employees, and $21,052 in penalties.

HARTFORD, CT – The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut has entered a consent judgment and ordered a Fairfield restaurant and its owner to pay $244,930 in back wages and liquidated damages to eight employees, as part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

MANCHESTER, NH – The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement with a Maine vegetable farm after an investigation found that it willfully violated terms of the H-2B non-immigrant visa program under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Under the settlement agreement, Green Thumb Farms Inc. of Fryeburg has paid $10,164 in penalties to the Department and agreed to comply with the law, applicable H-2B regulations, and the obligations agreed and attested to in all of its temporary employment certification applications.

CONCORD, NH – A New Hampshire man has pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of obstruction of justice in connection with a U.S. Department of Labor wage and hour investigation and litigation. It is believed to be the first federal criminal prosecution arising from a Department wage and hour investigation in New Hampshire.

WASHINGTON, DC – As retailers and other businesses temporarily increase staffing levels to accommodate heightened seasonal consumer demand, the U.S. Department of Labor reminds employers of the necessity of complying with federal labor laws related to safety, pay, and benefits.